Needle magazine

ABSTRACT

A needle magazine for storing and selectively dispensing a plurality of needle assemblies is comprised of a modules that are located adjacent each other and connected together side-by-side. The modules may be box shaped and provided on one side surface with a pin. A side opposite the side surface having the pin has a pin-receiving hole in which the pin of an adjacent module is secured. This allows an individual user to customize the capacity of the magazine based on the user&#39;s individual needs by joining as many or as few modules as needed. In some embodiments, a peg is used to secure the modules together. Each module may have a channel that accommodates the peg, thereby allowing a user to arrange the modules side-by-side and secure them with the peg. Also disclosed are methods for attaching needles stored in magazines directly non-symmetrical injection devices

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC § 119 of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/299,366 (filed on Jun. 19, 2001) and Danish Application PA 2001 00899 (filed on Jun. 11, 2001), both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates to needle magazines for storing, dispensing and collecting a number of needle assemblies.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] Medical injection devices are used to deliver selected doses of medication to patients. Some medication, such as insulin is self-administered. The typical diabetes patient will require injections of insulin several times during the course of the day. In order to prevent infections it is recommended to use a sterile needle assembly for each new injection. Needle assemblies are often delivered in a separate housing where such housing contains only one sterile needle assembly. Such a housing is shown in FIG. 1. The needle assembly and the housing together are hereafter referred to as a needle unit. Using a needle assembly of this kind requires the patient to open the housing and to fasten the needle assembly onto the injection device prior to each injection, as shown in FIG. 2. Usually the needle hub of the needle assembly is provided with an internal thread and force fitted into the housing. A typical injection device is provided with an external thread on its tip, which fits in the internal thread of the needle hub. In order to connect the needle assembly and the injection device these two elements must be rotated relatively to each other. In order to facilitate a better grip on the needle assembly, it is usually kept in the housing when mounting it on the injection device. After injection, the needle assembly is usually returned to the housing, and the complete needle unit is disposed of. The storage of sterile needle units of this type and the final disposal of used needle units present a problem, since new sterile needle units are often carried loosely in purses or briefcases, and used needle units are often disposed of unsafely.

[0006] To overcome these problems a needle magazine for storage and dispensing a plurality of needle units has been developed. An example of such prior art magazine is shown in WO 00.54691, and comprises a plurality of needle units stored on a needle unit holding plate. The needle unit holding plate is provided with two opposite located grooves into which grooves the needle units slides. The needle units are covered by the needle unit holding plate, and must be separated from the needle unit holding plate prior to being mounted on the injection device.

[0007] Another example of a prior art needle magazine is disclosed in WO 00.56379. This needle magazine comprises a needle storage case where the needle units are stored in a plurality of needle unit engaging holes, each storing one needle unit. The storage case is provided with a lid, which can slide to an open position in order to access the needle units. The housings of the needle units are rotationally locked to the needle storage case by a series of anti-rotation ribs located on each housing. These ribs interacts with a number of protruding ribs located on the side walls of the needle unit engaging holes.

[0008] These needle magazines are delivered from the supplier in a predetermined size made to fit a specific number of needle units. The magazine disclosed in WO 00.56379 is made to fit 14 needle units, and in the magazine shown in WO 00.54691 each needle unit holding plate is made to store 7 needle units.

[0009] People suffering from diabetes have different needs concerning the number of injections to be performed each day. The number of needle units a patient needs to carry around therefore differs from patient to patient. As a result of this, there is a great need for a needle magazine that can be custom built to facilitate the need of an individual patient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The magazine according to the one embodiment of the present invention is made from a number of individual modules, which are connected together to form a base member. Each individual module is provided with at least one needle engaging hole for storing a needle unit and connecting means for connecting together a number of individual modules. In this way each patient can build a needle magazine, which facilitates that individual patient's needs as far as the number of needle units is concerned.

[0011] In some embodiments of the needle magazine according to the invention, each module is box shaped having an upper surface, including the needle unit engaging holes, a bottom surface, and four side surfaces located between the top and the bottom surface. Making the individual modules box-shaped gives the modules a similarity with ordinary building blocks (e.g. children's blocks), and the general idea of connecting such modules together is somewhat self-explanatory.

[0012] In another embodiment of the needle magazine according to the invention each module comprises a longitudinal channel provided between opposite side surfaces. This allows a number of modules to be connected together side-by-side by mounting a peg in a longitudinal tunnel that is formed by the longitudinally aligning channels of neighboring modules. In this way the magazine can be connected by pushing or pulling a number of modules onto a peg, somewhat like pearls on a string. By obtaining a peg with sufficient length and the number of modules wanted, a custom build needle magazine containing a number of injection needles which facilitates the need of an individual patient is very easy build.

[0013] When each module comprises a longitudinal channel provided between opposite side surfaces, a number of modules may be connected together side-by-side, by mounting a number of pins in the longitudinal tunnel formed by the longitudinal aligned channels of neighboring modules. In this embodiment of the present invention, a number of different pins can be utilized in connecting together the modules of a needle magazine according to the present invention.

[0014] The pins used to connect the modules to each other can either be loose pins, or the pins can be moulded as an integrated part of each module.

[0015] In most embodiments described herein, each module can be tilted such that the needle unit mounted in that specific module has free space around the needle unit. This has the advantage that the same needle magazine can accommodate a large variety of different injection devices including non-symmetrical injection devices (e.g., devices that are not symmetric about their needle mounting means) having an abutment, which abuts the skin during injection, such as the Innovo® and the InnoLet® from Novo Nordisk. And therefore provides a method for attaching needles directly to these injection devices from a magazine. The method comprises inserting a portion of the device into the magazine and rotating the device relative to the magazine.

[0016] In addition each module can be provided with one or more raised portions on one of the side surfaces and similar depressions on the opposite side surface, such that a side surface carrying a raised portion will abut the side surface of the neighboring module having depressions when the needle magazine is connected. This will ensure that the modules are being properly indexed in relation to each other when the module in use is being tilted. The depressions would typically be located 90 degrees apart from each other.

[0017] In some embodiments of the needle magazine according to the invention, the base member is provided with a lid covering the needle unit engaging holes form above, and which lid preferably slides in a number of grooves provided on two of the side surfaces located opposite each other. The presence of a lid makes it more hygienic to carry the needle magazine in a purse or a briefcase, and protects the barrier sheet from being damaged. Instead of a lid sliding in a number of groves, a lid that tips or twist can be used.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present invention, each needle unit engaging hole is provided with at least one needle unit engaging element, such as ribs or depressions, for interfacing with a needle magazine engaging element, such as ribs or depressions, on the needle unit is located. This ensures that each of said needle units are non-rotatably stored in the needle unit engaging hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019]FIG. 1 Shows an exploded view of a needle unit that may be used with the present invention.

[0020]FIG. 2 Shows a perspective view of an opened needle unit where the needle assembly is to be connected to an injection device.

[0021]FIG. 3 Shows a view of a needle magazine according to an embodiment of the invention with the individual modules disconnected from each other.

[0022]FIG. 4 Shows a view of a needle magazine according to an embodiment of the invention with the individual modules mounted on a peg.

[0023]FIG. 5 Shows a view of a needle magazine according to an embodiment of the invention with the lid moved to a partly opened position.

[0024]FIG. 6 Shows a view of a needle magazine according to an embodiment of the invention with one of the individual modules tilted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025]FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the prior art needle unit 1. The needle unit 1 comprises a needle cannula 2, which is mounted in a needle hub 3. The needle cannula 2 has an injection part 4, which enters the human body during injection, and a cartridge part 5 which enters a cartridge (not shown) contained in the injection device when the needle assembly is connected to an injection device 11. The needle cannula 2 mounted in the needle hub 3 is referred to as the needle assembly. The injection part 4 of the needle cannula 2 is covered by a cover 6 in order to protect against accidental needle sticks.

[0026] The needle assembly with the cover 6 mounted over the injection part 4 of the needle cannula 2 is finally mounted in a housing 7 having an opening covered by a sheet or foil 8 being impermeable to germs and the like, such that the interior of the housing 7 can be kept sterile. The sheet 8 has a flap 9, which can be gripped by the fingers of a user in order to tear off the sheet prior to use. The entire unit is referred to as the needle unit 1.

[0027]FIG. 2 shows the needle unit 1 of FIG. 1 with the sheet 8 removed and an injection device 11 having a pencil-like shape being moved towards each other in order to connect the needle assembly onto the injection device 11. Injection devices 11 are often provided with an external thread 12 located in the distal end of the injection device 11, onto which thread 12 aninternal thread (not showns) located on the inside surface of the needle hub 3 are screwed when connecting the needle assembly onto the injection device 11.

[0028] A needle magazine according to one illustrative embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3. The needle magazine comprises a base member 19 made up from a number of individual box shaped modules 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Each module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 has an upper surface 22 in which upper surface 22 a needle unit engaging hole 24 is provided. The needle unit engaging hole 24 is preferably provided with a number of outward pointing ribs 25 disposed approximately 90 degrees from each other. The housing 7 is provided with a number of depressions 10 which fits into the ribs 25 in order to prevent the housing 7 of the needle unit 1 from rotating relatively to the module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. This coupling mechanism serves the purpose of preventing the needle units 1 from rotating when the needle assembly are being screwed onto the injection device 11, and can as such be materialized in many different ways.

[0029] The bottom surface of each module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 is located opposite the upper surface 22, and the upper surface 22 and the bottom surface is connected by four side surfaces.

[0030] As can be seen in FIG. 3 the box shaped modules 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 are all identical and is provided with a pin 20 located on one of the side surfaces and a pin receiving hole 21 located on the opposite side surface. However the last module 18 needs not be provided with a pin 20. It is evident that the opposite side surfaces can be provided with more than one pin 20 and more than one pin receiving hole 21 if so wanted. Each of the opposite side surfaces can even be provided with both a pin 20 and a pin receiving hole 21.

[0031] The base member 19 of the needle magazine can simply be made by connecting together a number of modules 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 side-by-side, by entering the pin 20 of one module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 into the pin receiving hole 21 of the adjacent module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Each pin 20 is formed such that the pin 20 can secure each module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 to the neighboring module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, e.g. by making the pin 20 from a soft or semi soft material, such as rubber, in order to increase the friction between the pin 20 and each individual module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.

[0032] Instead of moulding the pin 20 as an integrated part of the module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, each module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 can be provided with a channel 26 extending all the way through the module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 from one side surface to the opposite side surface, as shown in FIG. 4. Together these channels 26 of neighboring modules 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 form a longitudinal tunnel 27.

[0033] Each pin 20 could then be a loose pin 20, which is inserted in the channel 26 e.g. by pressing half the length of the pin 20 into the channel 26. The base member 19 of the needle magazine can also here be made by connecting together a number of modules 13, 14, 15, 16 side-by-side, by entering the pin 20 located in the channel 26 of one module 13, 14, 15, 16 into the channel 26 of the adjacent module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.

[0034] Instead of having one pin 20 entering into the channel 21 of each module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, one long peg 28 can be entered into the longitudinal tunnel 27 formed by the longitudinal channels 26 of neighboring modules 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.

[0035] The modules 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 are preferably moulded from a semi-soft rubber since this provides friction to secure the needle housing 7 in the needle unit engaging hole 18 as well as friction to snap fit the pin 20 of each module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 into the pin receiving hole 21 of the neighboring module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Alternatively only the inside surface of each needle unit engaging hole 24 or each of the pins 20 can be moulded from a semi-soft rubber.

[0036] The peg 28 could also be made from, or covered by, a soft or semi soft material, such as rubber, in order to increase the friction between the peg 28 and each individual module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.

[0037]FIG. 5 shows the complete needle magazine with the needle units 1 located in the needle unit engaging holes 24. The base member 19 is covered by a lid 23 which slides in two grooves 29, 30 provided on opposite side surfaces of each module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. The lid 23 can be transparent in order to allow the user to see how many needle units 1 are used and to protect the user from the cartridge part 5 of the needle cannulas 2. The lid 23 is preferably made without any end surfaces such that the lid 23 can slide in both directions, but could be provided with one end surface such that the lid 23 only can slide in one direction.

[0038] When connecting a needle assembly onto an injection device 11 having a pencil-like shape as the injection device 11 shown in FIG. 2, the sheet 8 are first removed by griping the flap 9 with the fingers and tearing off the sheet 8. The thread 12 of the injection device 11 is then inserted into the not shown thread located on the inside surface of the needle hub 3, and the injection device 11 is rotated relatively to the needle magazine screwing the needle assembly onto the injection device 11.

[0039] For self-administering insulin there are primarily two types of injection devices available today, both types having an external thread provided on the tip of the injection device for connecting with the internal thread of a needle assembly. One type of injection devices being a pencil-like shaped injection device, which is symmetrical around the axis of rotation used when mounting the needle assembly. The other type is a compact injector, or compact doser, which is an injection device with a non-symmetrical design. Both the Innovo® and the InnoLet® (e.g. shown in WO 98.10812) from Novo Nordisk are examples of such non-symmetrical injection devices. Since these so-called compact injectors are not symmetrical around the axis of rotation used when mounting the needle assembly, an ordinary needle magazine, as the one known from WO 00.56379 cannot accommodate such an injection device, while the injection device and the needle magazine can not be rotated relatively to each other because the injection device will abut the needle magazine.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 6 each of the modules 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 of the present needle magazine can be tilted. By tilting one module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 the needle unit 1 located in that specific module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 are brought into a position where the free space around the housing 7 of the needle unit 1 is sufficient to provide access for a so-called compact injector and to allow the needle assembly to be connected to such a non-symmetrical injection device by rotating the injection device relatively to the needle magazine. In order to gain more free space the pin 20 or the peg 28 and the pin receiving hole 21 or the channel 26 can be dislocated in relation to a center-line through the base member 12. The free space around the needle unit 1 can be further increased by providing each module 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 with a raised portion 31 (see e.g., FIG. 3).

[0041] Some preferred embodiments have been shown in the foregoing, but it should be stressed that the invention is not limited to these, but may be embodied in other ways within the subject-matter defined in the following claims. 

We claim:
 1. A needle magazine for storing a plurality of needle units each comprising a needle assembly and for selectively dispensing the needle assemblies therefrom, the magazine comprising: a base member comprised of individual modules, wherein each module comprises at least one needle unit engaging hole for storing one of the needle units; and a means for allowing a patient to connect the individual modules together, thereby allowing the capacity of the magazine to be cusomized.
 2. A needle magazine according to claim 1, wherein each module is box shaped and comprises: an upper surface that includes the needle unit engaging hole; a bottom surface located opposite the upper surface; and four side surfaces located there between.
 3. A needle magazine according to claim 2, wherein: each module further comprises a longitudinal channel provided between two of the opposite side surface; a plurality of the modules are located adjacent to each other with their longitudinal channels aligned to form a longitudinal tunnel; and a peg is disposed in the longitudinal tunnel connecting the adjacent modules together.
 4. A needle magazine according to claim 2, wherein: each module comprises a longitudinal channel between two of the opposite side surfaces; a plurality of modules are aligned side-by-side with their longitudinal channels aligned to form a tunnel; and the plurality of modules that are aligned side-by-side are connected together by mounting a number of pins in the longitudinal tunnel.
 5. A needle magazine according to claim 4, wherein the pin has a first portion and a second portion that are each approximately half the length of the pin, the first portion located in the longitudinal channel of one module and the second portion of the pin located in the longitudinal channel of an adjacent module.
 6. A needle magazine according to claim 2, wherein each module comprises a pin located at least on one of the side surfaces, and a pin receiving hole provided on the opposite side surface, thereby allowing a number of modules to be connected together side-by-side, by entering the pin of one module into one of the pin receiving holes of an adjacent module.
 7. A needle magazine according to claim 1 further comprising: a lid covering the needle unit engaging holes from above; a plurality of grooves disposed two of the side surfaces located opposite each other for allowing the lid to slide; and a means for sliding the lid along the grooves.
 8. A needle magazine according to claim 1, wherein each needle unit engaging hole comprises at least one needle unit engaging element for engaging a needle magazine engaging element on the needle unit, thereby allowing the needle units to be non-rotatably stored in the needle unit engaging hole.
 9. A method for mounting a needle stored in magazine to an injection device that comprises an abutment that abuts a patient's skin during an injection, the method comprising the steps of: inserting a portion of the injection device into the magazine; and rotating the injection device relative to the magazine thereby securing a needle to the injection device.
 10. A needle magazine kit comprising: a plurality of needle unit holding modules having a means for holding a needle unit; and a means for joining the modules together to form a magazine that is adapted for particular needs of an individual user.
 11. The needle magazine kit of claim 10, wherein each module has a channel and wherein the joining means utilizes the channel for joining the modules together.
 12. The needle magazine kit of claim 11, further comprising a lid that covers the needle unit holding means.
 13. The needle magazine kit of claim 12, further comprising a means for opening the lid to allow selective access to the needle holding means.
 14. The needle magazine kit of claim 11, wherein the joining means is an integral part of each module.
 15. The needle magazine kit of claim 11, wherein the joining means allows each module to be rotated relative to the magazine as a whole.
 16. The needle magazine kit of claim 15, wherein the joining means has a length greater than the length of two modules.
 17. The needle magazine kit of claim 11, wherein the needle unit holding means has a means for preventing rotation of the needle unit relative to the magazine.
 18. The needle magazine of claim 11, further comprising a means for allowing a non-symmetrical injection device to load a needle unit directly from the magazine kit after the kit is assembled by a user.
 19. The needle magazine kit of claim 11, further comprising a means for maintaining sterility of the needle units.
 20. The needle magazine kit of claim 11, wherein each module comprises a raised portion and wherein the means for holding the needle unit is located, at least in part, within the raised portion. 